"...the tree that gives life, bearing its fruit twelvefold, one yield for each month. And the leaves of this tree bring health to all the nations." (Apoc. 22:2)

Friday, 6 February 2009

God Sees

Ever wondered what women were doing all those centuries when men almost exclusively ran the world? Ever had the feeling that the poor creatures were wasting their lives away in the shadow of their husbands, leaving no mark on the world? Think again. I found this piece on Fr. Z's blog:

The Invisible MomIt all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.Inside I’m thinking, ‘Can’t you see I’m on the phone?’ Obviously not; no one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.I’m invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I’m not a pair of hands; I’m not even a human being. I’m a clock to ask, ‘What time is it?’ I’m a satellite guide to answer, ‘What number is the Disney Channel?’ I’m a car to order, ‘Right around 5:30, please.’I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude – but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She’s going, she’s going, she’s gone!One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England .. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, ‘I brought you this.’ It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription: ‘To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.’In the days ahead I would read – no, devour – the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals we have no record of their names. [1] These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. [2] They made great sacrifices and [3] expected no credit. [4] The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, ‘Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.’ And the workman replied, ‘Because God sees.’I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, ‘I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make everyday, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.’At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don’t want my child to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, ‘My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.’ That would mean I’d built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, ‘You’re gonna love it there.’As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.God sees. Even the tiniest action committed out of love, even the most invisible sacrifice is not in vain. According to the Christian faith - and I know how provoking this will sound to some - the greatness of Woman lies exactly in her smallness. The Virgin rejoices that the Lord "hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble." Our Lord Himself promises that "he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." Many things will be reversed in Heaven; I have little doubt that that will be the case with the relative status of men and women. Women are the silent heroes of mankind, and they will surely get their just reward from Him who sees everything.

"...the tree that gives life, bearing its fruit twelvefold, one yield for each month. And the leaves of this tree bring health to all the nations."

In the Heavenly Jerusalem thus stands the tree which gives life and healing to all Mankind.

What is this tree? It is none other than the Cross of Christ, the throne of divine love where the Son of God pours out His blood for the healing of all. And where is this Heavenly Jerusalem? It is right here among us, though still being formed; visible, although veiled; victorious, though still struggling. It is the wonderful mystery of the people of God, those who look to the Cross for healing - the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

About this blog

Health (latin sanitas) is central to this blog. The English cognate sanity is now used to denote mental health - but mental health is certainly a prerequisite for anyone who deals with matters of bodily health.

This blog is dedicated to promoting health, spiritual as well as mental and bodily; to the rights of the unborn; to sound bio-ethics; to uncovering the grand mystery of the human person in its fullness as the image of the all-beautiful Creator.

May the Tree of Life, the Cross of Jesus Christ, give all us physicians the sanity we need to properly serve our patients.

About Me

I am a young medical doctor from Denmark. By the great grace of God happily married and the proud father of a wonderful baby girl. Was raised a Protestant Christian but was finally persuaded by the awesomeness of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Here the Truth is present in its fullness, the Truth which sets us free: Jesus the Christ. Truth - an especially pertinent issue for my profession but also for my generation as a whole, which needs it desperately.
Read more about my journey here: http://ad-sanitatem-gentium.blogspot.dk/2009/02/background.html